Hydrocolloid-food component interactions.

Hydrocolloids can greatly influence the structure and functionalities of modern foods, mainly due to their interactions with other components present in complex food matrices. This review outlines three main categories of hydrocolloid-food component interactions: hydrocolloid-ion, hydrocolloid-small molecule, and hydrocolloid-hydrocolloid interactions. Examples are given to illustrate the impact of the interactions on the structure, stability, functional properties of foods, and their utilizations in food technologies such as separation/purification, gelation, emulsification, and encapsulation etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]